Nakheel, the Dubai government-owned developer that restructured $16 billion of debt three years ago after being hit by a sharp drop in local real estate prices, is now aiming to pay back much of those borrowings early and eventually become debt-free as property prices climb again.

The company will pre-pay 4 billion U.A.E. dirhams ($1.09 billion) of bank loans originally set to mature next September, chairman Ali Rashid Lootah said on Saturday. The plan is to pay 2.35 billion dirhams at the end of next month and the remainder in August, he said.

The move is part of a deleveraging strategy Mr. Lootah put into place after taking over in 2010. Nakheel was still in the throes of its restructuring back then, and Mr. Lootah – a pillar of Dubai’s established merchant community and a trusted hand for the emirate’s ruler – was brought in to help right the ship.

After paying back 4 billion dirhams this year, Mr. Lootah said the company would repay 3 billion dirhams of bank debt next year, followed by a 4.5 billion dirham Islamic bond in 2016 and another 900 million dirham or so of bank loans in 2018. Following that, Mr. Lootah said, the company will be debt-free.

“Banks will not be happy,” he said, although he added that the company was still open to talks with lenders to potentially refinance existing debt, if the terms are right.

Nakheel is getting the cash to repay its debt early from a combination of new project launches and expense reductions, Mr. Lootah said. Revenues almost doubled between 2011 and 2012, thanks in large part to renewed development and sales in residential communities like Jumeirah Park and Al Furjan.

Looking ahead, Nakheel will focus on “any area where we have existing infrastructure,” Mr. Lootah said.

“We try to capitalize on that,” he said. “We build retail, we see if there is any room for new residential development there because infrastructure is a costly affair, so we try to avoid that as much as possible.”

The company is well ahead of restructuring targets, he said. It has settled 8 billion dirhams of trade creditors and contractor claims for just 1.5 billion dirhams and reduced liabilities to customers by 77%, according to a company presentation. Nakheel also has used only 11.4 billion dirhams of 26.8 billion dirhams of financial support extended by the Dubai government, it said.

Nakheel’s fortunes have improved in line with those of Dubai’s real estate market, where prices soared by more than 50% year-on-year in last year’s third quarter, according to a report from the consultancy Cluttons. Investors are lining up to reserve property in new developments, much like they did during the bubble that burst about five years ago. And in another small sign that Nakheel is riding high again, the company gave journalists attending its press conference Saturday gifts of iPads and designer watches. As per The Wall Street Journal’s editorial policy, the gift was returned.